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We’ve all been there, stressfully putting off important work in favour of binging another hour of Netflix, or actively avoiding a task that we know is crucial in favour of taking a nap. Seems like something you can relate to, right?

Well don’t worry, we’ve got you covered, we’ve some great tools that you can use to help beat procrastination and meet those deadlines! 

Step away from the Netflix

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As hard as it can be to step back from our favourite binge-worthy shows, we do need you to step back from Netflix, close Tik Tok, and mute those notifications from Instagram! Social media apps are fab for browsing the world and allowing us to have a snoop at the latest fashion, but they’re also time-drainers, meaning, when we are hooked on them, we lose hours of our lives flicking through stories, new Tik Tok’s and shows. We’ve all been there, and it’s nothing to be ashamed of, but save the Netflix and social media sites for your free time.

Create a ta-da list

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This is something we’ve totally robbed from the Queen herself, Mrs. Hinch. She loves to create a ta-da list rather than a to-do list, and if we’re honest, we totally love this concept. Instead of writing a list of all the things you need to get done, (which let’s admit, can be totally daunting), write a list of all the things you’ve achieved today! This totally changes the concept of the list and lets you celebrate every little success that you’ve had in working towards the deadline.

Break the task down into manageable chunks

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We love this idea as we think it totally helps us to face a large daunting task.  Breaking our reports, essays, and tasks into smaller sections, allows us to focus and work on those sections, and soon enough, they all add up, and before you know it the work is done! This seems relatively obvious, but it’s crazy how making a task into multiple smaller tasks can really help your mindset and make the task less scary.

Download a productivity app

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Productivity apps such as FocusLand and Flora Focus, are great to get us off our phones. Whether it’s blocking notifications or reminding you to put the phone back down, these apps can help us focus by helping to remove distractions. Some apps such as Forest, are great as they have little emote-cons that grow as you meet your goals. These apps also help us to realise how much we’ve achieved as they give us a visual representation of our productivity.

Reward yourself for getting it finished

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While we’re not recommending putting a sweet at the end of each paragraph of that long report you were supposed to read, cause let’s face it, we know we’d gobble them all up in the first five minutes, rewarding ourselves for achieving tasks does work. Whether it’s those new shoes you wanted, or a mid-week treat, or even going for a coffee with the girls, rewards for productivity do work. Set yourself a goal and when you read it, celebrate it! Life is too short, and you deserve to celebrate beating procrastination and meeting those deadlines.

 

The most important thing is to try your best, we’ve all had days where leaving the comfort of our duvet is super difficult, but you can do this. Little and often is the best way to overcome huge tasks. We support you; you’ve got this! (See what we did there 😉). 

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